What Could've Been
by The Crocea Mors
Summary: During a funeral, Weiss thinks about the opportunity she lost, and what another had gained. {One-shot}


RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and the late, great Monty Oum, may his soul find everlasting peace.

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Weiss found herself rising from her slumber, opening her eyes into a familiar, white, barren room. Changing into a sitting position and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she recalled information from the past few months and remembered she was staying in one of the many Schnee owned homes scattered throughout Vale. She got out of bed and checked her Scroll, it instantly filled her with dread and regret. She got out of bed and strode to the bathroom, took a shower, and changed into sleeveless black dress that stopped to her knees and had a black velvet belt in the middle.

Next she wore black heels, a matching black hat, and gloves. She walked outside of the home and into the limo that awaited her. Once inside she found a plate of Eggs Benedict and a glass of orange juice. Removing her gloves, she ate a brisk pace, as befit her highborn status. Once she was finished, she drank her juice and after a few minutes, the vehicle came to a gentle stop, indicating that they've arrived at their destination. The door opened, revealing a man in a suit. She left the vehicle, and with a quick thanks, she walked towards the spot.

It was quite a bright day out, the birds were chirping, there was no breeze yet it wasn't too warm either, like a perfect mix. She spotted her group, who normally – save for Blake – sported brighter, colours, were in unison today, wearing the colour – it wasn't a colour, more of a shade – black. She passed by the rows of headstones and flowers to make her way to them. When she arrived, she saw a lot of people, ranging from her team and JNPR, to CFVY, CRDL, SSSN, Headmaster Ozpin, Professors Port, Peach and Goodwitch, a row of blondes, and even her sister Winter, who was grieving with Ruby, and plenty of others she didn't recognize, people he had helped over the years, Weiss assumed.

When they saw her approach, Ruby rushed to her and hugged her, the scene reminded Weiss of when her mother had passed away, and it was the exact same thing, except instead of Ruby it was Winter, and they were younger. She nodded to the others as Ozpin strode over to the front, stopping in front of a rectangular hole, flanked by wreathes with a smiling picture of a blonde swordsman on it. He addressed the mourning crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know the occasion that brings us together is a solemn one, but the man we're here for today, wouldn't want us to be sad, he'd want us to live our lives to the best we can, as evident with today." He stopped and motioned at the sky around him.

"He truly is quite a person, wanting to comfort us even though he's physically unable to. That's definitely him alright, always caring for others. I remember when he first came to Beacon, he was quite the bumbling blonde." He said, which caused a few chuckles from the black clad crowd.

"But as time went on, he became strong, not for himself or for the sake of getting more power, no, that was quite the opposite. He saw the dangers of the world, especially those which come with our lone of profession, he wanted to get stronger so he could protect those he care about, and those who could not protect themselves, that is simply the type of person he is, and I am sad to say that Remnant has gotten weaker for losing someone such as him." As Ozpin finished, all was quiet in the graveyard, and a line of men carrying a coffin made their way through the crowd. The coffin was beautiful, it was whiter than fresh snow, Weiss surmised that it to match the purity of the man inside of it. The edging was lined with solid gold, and on top of it were two crescent arcs, they too made with solid gold, something that someone of his rank and fame deserves. They lowered the coffin into the hole, and that was when the dam burst, she heard people weeping, some even uncontrollably, she knew that without even looking, Ruby would be, especially Yang. She felt something wet cascade down her face and when she felt it, they were tears. A sensation she hadn't felt since the day they told her and every one of what had happened that led to this. She let a few more run down, before bowing her head.

Once that was done, Ozpin led her team, the remains of JNPR, CFVY, SSSN, and the blonde family aside.

"He has left instructions on what's to be done with his belongings should he ever fall in the field, and you should all watch it." Ozpin said, pulling out two microchips, handing one over to Ruby, and the other to a tall, broad, blonde haired man. Ozpin stepped back and turned to Ruby.

"Miss Rose, as I said, that chip contains his will, the reason there are 2 is because he wanted one to be heard by his friends and family, each having a different message. Miss Rose when we get back to Beacon, it would be good to view it with your team, JNPR, CFVY, CRDL and SSSN since he had left something for all of you." Ozpin turned to face the blonde man, pulling out a sword that had been familiar to everyone, before handing it to the man, to which he accepted solemnly.

"It is with my deepest regret that I have to do this, for he was like a son to me, I hope you will find it in yourselves to forgive me." Ozpin had said. The man shook his head before placing a hand on Ozpin's shoulders.

"It wasn't your fault, it was the White Fang's," The man had said. He removed his hand and turned to face Yang, and walked up to her. When he was in front of her, she hugged him with all her might, this broke Weiss' heart even more, they looked like a family, well they _were_ going to be, if not for the incident.

"Even though he is our son, I suspect you might be the one hurt most by this, Yang, just know that we will always be here for you, and I know that he would want you to be happy." The blonde man said.

After a few minutes they separated, and the man gave her the famed sword that rivalled that of a mythical one in the story books named Excalibur. Everyone was shocked by this, none more so than Yang, the one who was getting it.

"B-but, t-this is a family heir-"The man stopped her by placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you remember, Yang? You were going to be officially and legally part of the family anyways, even having the blonde hair to boot. But Christina and I aren't having anymore children, and his sisters have agreed that you should have it." He said, before removing his hand, and walking away, the other blondes he came with following him into a white limo with gold trim.

Weiss looked at the gold ring at the sparkling ring on Yang's finger, and felt herself feel something she hadn't felt in a very long while, envy. She wasn't envious of the ring itself, although it was very beautiful – and expensive, costing around a few _hundred thousand_ lien. No, she was jealous at the fact that it could've been her in Yang's position, her receiving the proposal instead of Yang, _her_ marrying him, _her_ getting to wake up beside him every morning, _her_ having his kids, _her_ growing old with him. Weiss couldn't stand it anymore and when Yang looked her way and made eye contact with her, that was it.

Weiss turned around and walked back towards the limo, the man opening the door and once she was inside, closed it. She felt the limo drive away, and then did she let out her tears, crying in sorrow for the man that could've been hers, but after what happened, couldn't _Jaune Arc._

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 **So I got the idea for this when I first started getting really into the Empire (Jaune/Weiss) pairing. For now, this is a one-shot (my very first one!) depending on how you, the reader, react to this and how I feel about this story. As always, have a good day and good luck with exams/finals!  
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 **There's a poll up for those of you who want this to continue!**


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